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June/July Email Edition
Also featuring articles from The Houston Review, The Examiner at Texas A&M, and articles authored by Review writers in other publications
ARTICLES
-Front Page
-Insight
-Campus/Education
-Austin News
-Houston News
-Culture
SPECIAL FEATURES
-Outrages Galore
-Texas Political Events Calendar
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Review
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FRONT PAGE
1) Lawsuit
Seeks to Expunge Ten Commandments from Texas Capitol Grounds
On the heels of the reviled decision censoring "under God" out of the
Pledge of Allegiance, a lawsuit to be heard by a federal court on July
29 in Austin alleges that the Ten Commandments granite display on the grounds
of the Capitol is also an unconstitutional establishment of religion.
Does this suit, which names Rick Perry, Pete Laney, and other elected officials
as defendants, have any merit?
2) Ron
Kirk Campaign Employed Anti-Israel Activist and Friend of American Taliban;
Kirk Received Mayoral Campaign Donations from Individuals Linked with Terrorism
This exclusive report posted in early June on the Austin Review website
has gained national attention, as it was featured in WorldNetDaily, Hotwire,
and on ABC News' website. As a result, Steven Hyland, an anti-Israel
activist and friend of American Taliban John Walker Lindh, resigned from
the Kirk campaign. Meanwhile, one of Kirk's donors with links to
terrorism, Ihsan Elashyi, pleaded guilty in late June to four counts of
a 39-count indictment returned in April, including charges of money laundering
and wire fraud.
3) Proposed
Austin EMS & Fire Department Merger: Smoke and Mirrors?
The proposal to merge Austin-Travis County EMS
into the Austin Fire Department could be perilous for both entities and
the community, says public safety expert Wes Oglivie.
4) Fed
TEA Audit Exposes Flaws
A new federal audit of the Texas Education Agency shows the TEA is
failing to carry out its responsibility to monitor the effectiveness of
bilingual and special education programs.
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INSIGHT
1) To
the UN: No Taxation Without Representation
Ken Bell argues the U.S. must reject a United Nations proposal that
would give the global bureaucracy the power to tax American citizens.
2) The
High Price of Restraint
Alan Sager observes that Israel's remarkable restraint in face of persistent
terrorist attacks is not being rewarded by the international community.
3) Commencements
of 2002 Achieve New Degree of Political Correctness
In this Washington Times op-ed, Marc Levin documents the numerous separate
commencement ceremonies for racial and ethnic minorities, as well as homosexuals,
that were held this year at campuses such as the University of Texas, U.C.L.A.,
and the University of Iowa and contends this "separate but equal" approach
to commencement undermines the traditional unifying theme of graduation
day and contradicts academia's purported goal of preparing students to
live in a diverse society where they will interact with all types of people.
4) Who,
If Anyone, Owes Reparations for Slavery?
With suits being filed against corporations seeking reparations for
slavery, Phil Magness asks whether the Democratic Party should pay up,
given its long history of defending slavery and segregation that easily
exceeds that of any company.
5) Texas
Primary Results Portend Watershed Election
Marc Levin reviews the 2002 Texas primaries and looks forward to the
general election.
6) Primaries
Aren't Just a Second Priority
Bill Peacock maintains that, due to gerrymandering and relatively low
turnout, your vote in the primaries will prove to be even more important
than the general election.
7) Politically
Incorrect, But Obviously Right: Why Nationality Profiling of Non-Citizens
is Needed to Stop Terrorism
In this op-ed in the Jerusalem Post, Marc Levin points out that the
19 terrorists responsible for the September 11 massacre were all male non-citizens
from Arab nations traveling without family members and argues other individuals
who share these traits should be subjected to greater scrutiny at airports
than an 80 year-old black grandmother who is a citizen of the U.S. traveling
with her grandchildren
___________________
EDUCATION/CAMPUS
1) bell
hooks Spews Anti-American Tirade in Commencement Speech at Southwestern
University in Georgetown
Feminist professor and author bell hooks (sic), who rejects capitalization
as an invalid social construct, condemned many members of her audience,
urged them to disregard the future because caring about the future is a
capitalist construct, bemoaned the so-called patriarchy, slammed the war
on terrorism, described the U.S. as "imperialist, patriarchal, and white
supremacist," and equated conservatism with murder. As a result,
she was widely and repeatedly booed by a stunned audience of parents and
graduates.
2) Time to
Get Behind Gates
Brady Creel urges Aggies to get behind new Texas A&M President
and former Bush administration CIA Director Robert Gates, despite many
Aggies' disappointment that retiring Senator Phil Gramm was not selected.
In an earlier article,
Creel recounted the recent A&M Regents meeting where the majority of
alumni and students rallied behind Gramm and, but for Regent Chairman Erle
Nye's insistence, would not have been permitted to speak.
3) ON CAMPUS:
The Best and Worst on America's Colleges Campuses
University of Texas System Hires Creator of Racial Quota Scheme Declared
Unconstitutional in Hopwood as Chancellor, Playwright Tony Kushner Calls
Republican Party "The Devil" and Bush "Evil" in Vassar Commencement Speech,
University of Texas Law School May Be Circumventing Hopwood, Nugent and
Coulter Highlight Young America's Foundation Conservative Student Conference,
& University of Texas Sponsors Cockamamie Lecture on "Sexual Politics
of Meat."
4) University
of Michigan's Racial Quota System Sustained by Circuit Court, May Be Heard
by Supreme Court Due to Conflict with Hopwood
UT Law Professor Lino Graglia reveals the highly questionable machinations
behind the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling upholding the University
of Michigan's use of racial preferences.
5) Achieving
Accuracy in Texas Textbooks
Peggy Venable examines the current debate over school textbooks in
Texas and argues that the ongoing review process must assure that textbooks
present facts, rather than hyperbole, on controversial issues such as global
warming and reflect common Texas and American values.
6) Hating
Aggies and Other Politically Correct Causes
Jonathan Jones scrutinizes the scourge of political correctness at
Texas A&M and beyond.
7) Defending
Civilization: Students at the University of Chicago Take on the Faculty
Beth Henary reports that students at the University of Chicago are
battling a faculty effort to water down the University's traditionally
rigorous Western Civilization core curriculum.
8) Update:
Court Reinstates Texas Tech Medical Student Expelled for Autopsy Article
A Lubbock judge has ordered Texas Tech University to reinstate Sandeep
Rao, a medical student expelled by the University for writing a column
on his first autopsy, which was published in the Texas Tech student
newspaper and the The Austin Review.
___________________
AUSTIN NEWS
1) Proposed
Downtown Austin Traffic Plan Wrong Way to Go
Duggan Flanakin explains that although City of Austin experts admit
that eliminating one way streets and turning lanes downtown would increase
congestion, traffic fatalities, and pollution, they remarkably believe
these changes are worthwhile nonetheless because they would stimulate pedestrian
life.
2)
Experience of Other Cities Shows Converting One Way Streets to Two Way
is Costly
The experience of other cities that have pursued the new traffic scheme
recommended by city planners for downtown Austin shows it is a road to
nowhere, says Marc Levin.
3)
Recent Austin Elections Show Voters Prefer Independence and Fiscal Responsibility
to Parochial Liberalism
Marc Levin examines the results of the latest
round of Austin city elections and pleasantly finds that Austin is not
living up to its moniker as "Berkeley on the Colorado."
___________________
HOUSTON NEWS
1) David
Horowitz Discusses Security in Wake of Clinton Administration Failures
at Houston Lecture
Steve Parkhurst recaps an illuminating presentation by commentator
and best-selling author David Horowitz in Houston.
2) Statewide
and Houston Area Political Odds & Ends
City of Houston Paying for Left-Wing Seminars, GOP Congressman and
Decorated Veteran Sam Johnson Questions Tony Sanchez's Vietnam Deferment,
Houston Mayor Lee Brown Sleepwalking Through Final Term, & More.
3) A
Shaky Six Months at the Harris County Republican Party
After former Chairman Gary Polland led the Party to historic success,
capturing all county-wide offices, his successor has made some controversial
changes.
___________________
CULTURE
1) La
Traviata: Austin's Destination for Classic Italian Trattoria Dining
Food Editor Melissa Airoldi finds that La Traviata can satisfy the
most discerning Italian palette.
2) Crosby,
Stills, Nash & Young Carry On
Marc Levin reviews CSNY's Austin performance, which featured excellent
renditions of their classic songs and a strong sense of patriotism that
may surprise some.
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OUTRAGES GALORE
1) The
Collegiate Network's Top Five Campus Outrages of 2001
From the theft of a conservative student paper at Berkeley to a campus
sex toys fair at the University of Pittsburgh, these outrages spotlight
the very worst at America's universities.
5) Professors Purged from Board of Academic Journal Solely for Being Israeli
6) U.S.
Supreme Court Opinion Banning Execution of the Mentally Retarded Contained
False Statements Regarding Legislative History of Bill in Last Session
of Texas Legislature
___________________
TEXAS POLITICAL EVENTS CALENDAR
Thursday, July 18 and Friday, July 19
State Board of Education
Meeting. Agenda includes consideration of social studies textbooks.
William B. Travis Building, Room 1-104, 1701 North Congress Avenue, Austin.
Friday, July 19
Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander invites you to join her and
her top economic analysts for a series of interactive presentations that
will include a statewide economic forecast and outlooks for particular
regions. Forums will also be held on Friday, July 19 in Conroe at
10:00 a.m. at Montgomery College, Building E, Room 201 and at 2:00
pm in Galveston at Galveston College, Northern Building, Room 119.
For details on these forums, click
here.
Friday, July 26 and Saturday, July 27
Texas Summer Institute Seminar: The Road Not Taken: The
Political Thought of Thomas Jefferson & John C. Calhoun
Thompson Conference Center, U.T.Campus.
For more information, contact Alpheus Hall at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Saturday, August 10
Republican
Liberty Caucus State Convention in San Antonio featuring presentations
by former State Senator and Republican Land Commissioner nominee Jerry
Patterson and State Rep. Suzanna Gratia Hupp.
Thursday, August 22 - Sunday, August 25
Texas Young Republicans Convention
The Plaza Hotel, HWY 190 @ WS, Killeen
Contact: Corbett Finney at [EMAIL PROTECTED], (254) 718-3001 or
(877) 855-5518.
Tuesday, September 17
The Linda and Mitch Hart Lecture at Southern Medothist University in
Dallas: "The Politics of Hatred" Featuring David Gergen, Thomas Friedman,
and Bernard Shaw. This free program begins at 8:00 in the McFarlin
Auditorium on the SMU campus. More information can be found here.
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